A Papa Bear and His Cubs
by iamtyping98
Summary: After retiring Bumi assumed that his days of adventuring were over. But one day an old flame sends shocking news: he's a father! Now he's in for the biggest adventure of all as he tries to connect with his twin daughters, Lilly and Amber, while also balancing his budding romance with Lin Beifong. But with work and help from his family he might learn what it means to be a Papa Bear.
1. The News

The day started out like any other, with Bumi hauling himself out of bed and giving himself a good stretch before pulling on some clothes. He scratched at the fabric, desperately missing his old United Forces duds. But, of course, if Tenzin saw him out of his airbender costume he'd get an earful.

"Well," he said, running his fingers through his incurably messy hair, "this day ain't gonna start itself." Before leaving his room his eyes glanced over at the picture sitting on his end table which featured a nice shot of Lin Beifong posing in full armor. Bumi beamed, fully awake. As he continued for the door he blew the picture a kiss and said, "I'll see you later, m'dear."

As he made his way to the dining room, Bumi overheard a commotion. Not one to miss out he picked up the pace and walked in on his little brother having an argument with his wife over breakfast.

"I just can't believe she's coming here now!"

"Well I wasn't expecting it either, but you could at least _act_ a little more excited."

"Excited? After what she did the last time she visited?"

Pema sighed as she bounced Rohan up and down. "Will you get over that?"

Tenzin crossed his arms over his chest and gave a firm, "No."

"What did she do, Daddy?" Ikki asked in between bites. Tenzin blushed and said, "Nothing! Eat your rice!"

"What's going on?" Bumi asked as he walked in. He took a place next to Meelo and looked at his sister, "What's got him worked up?"

"Two words," Kya said with a smirk, "Vanessa's back."

Bumi's stomach dropped and his eyes stretched wide at the sound of the name. "You're kidding."

"Nope," Tenzin said, having overheard them. "She's sailing in today, which is why as soon as I finish breakfast I'm going to lock myself in the tower and meditate until she leaves." Pema rolled her eyes at her husband's nonsense, and Bumi broke into a wide smile.

"Gee, I haven't seen Ness in years! This is great!"

"Who is Vanessa?" Jinora asked, looking up from her book.

"Your mother's Cousin," Kya explained to her niece. "She's related through her Aunt. Is that right?" She looked to Pema who nodded as she attempted to feed Rohan a spoonful of mushy rice.

"Yes, Vanessa's more of a sister than anything really," Pema continued as she tried to feed her second son. "Aunty Amara was a Nurse in the United Republic's army, and met Uncle Tzu who was a corporal in the fire nation division."

"So, she's half fire nation?" Jinora asked inquisitively.

"Eeyup." Bumi cut in. "And probably the most live spitfire you'll ever meet!" Bumi laughed as he took a seat between the kids, grinning wider at Tenzin who frowned at his brother.

"Not that your father ever got along with her," Bumi snickered.

"So she lived in Republic City?" Jinora was interested enough that she actually set her book down to listen.

Bumi nodded. "Yep. V worked in the city doing odd jobs, usually secretary work for her dad. She's also a firebender; but she doesn't use it too often. Only for simple things. Not that she doesn't know how to defend herself - believe you and me, I know firsthand."

"Yes, didn't she flip you over her shoulder and pin you to the ground by your neck with her knee when you first met?" Kya remarked with a chuckle as Bumi blushed at that reminder. Meelo and Ikki "Ooooh" -ed in surprise.

'Yes...well..." Bumi coughed into his hand. "I was a young pup then, and should've known better than to put my hand on the shoulder of a woman walking down the sidewalk at night alone in the city."

"I should say, you were 36 years old!" Pema scolds with a shake of her head before smiling at the kids. "Though your Aunt V and Bumi actually became fast friends after that, she agreed to go to dinner with him. And that led from one thing and another..."

Bumi cuts off Pema. "Yes, well, the kids don't need to know EVERYthing about Vanessa and Me..."

Pema blinked, confused at Bumi's sudden shy behavior, until Kya spoke up with an amused grin.

"Yes, the kids don't need to know that Bumi was totally smitten with Vanessa who was his first and ONLY long-term, serious girlfriend. Before Lin that is..." Kya finished with a mischievous smile.

Bumi let out a shocked sputter at Kya as the kids spoke up in amazement.

"Ooooh! Uncle Bumi, was she your first love? First Kiss? First Everything!?" Ikki tittered out in excitement.

"That's crazy Uncle Bumi, you can't date your sister's sister!" Meelo shouted out in mortification.

"Meelo, Uncle Bumi is not my 'brother-**Brother**' he's just my _brother-in-law_," Penma sighed, trying to explain the connection and family binds to him. "I married your father, so Bumi is my brother "by law"; by **MARRIAGE**. Bumi and Vanessa dated before I married your father and a few years afterwards."

"OH!" Meelo's eyes opened in realization. "So, any kids they had weren't **hillbobbies**?"

"That's 'Hill_Billies_', Dear." Kya corrects her nephew.

"And no. Besides, Bumi and Vanessa didn't have any kids," Pema pointed out.

"No, no, sadly no." Bumi sighed in a mock dramatic manner. "They've would've been gorgeous though. I'm telling you, with my looks, debonair nature, intelligence, and her sass, open mind, clever cunning and weird spirit-witch like senses, they would've been perfect!"

Tenzin let out a very loud and un-Air Nomad-like snort at Bumi declaration, causing Bumi's grin to drop and turn to look at his brother.

"Something the matter, brother-Dear?" Bumi rested his elbow on the table, if only to rankle Tenzin further.

"FIRST: Vanessa did not have 'spirit-witch powers'," Tenzin tells off his older brother. "Just because she had strange colored eyes, heard things that weren't there and anyone who offended her, or did her some wrong suffered a horrible, or embarrassing accident does not make her a witch! It just made her crazy, which she was completely."

Pema slapped Tenzin harshly across his arm, earning a startled yelp and confused stare from Tenzin to Pema, who narrowed her eyes angrily at her husband.

"Well, I saw the spirits when no one else could," Jinora piped up. "That didn't make me crazy."

"No, no it did not." Pema agreed with her daughter, eyes still fixed on her husband as she slowly turned away from him. "No one could explain why her eyes suddenly turned violet one day, and I never once doubted her, since so many weird things happened without explanation."

"She has violet eyes?" Jinora says in slight awe.

"Oh yes, their two dazzling gems," Bumi sighs with a nostalgic tone. "It weirded people out, and she liked it. And your Father's only HALF-right, she was crazy. CRAZY FUN!"

Bumi started cackling, slapping his hand on his leg at some memory coming back to him.

"I remember, shortly after she learned that Tenzin had dumped Lin for Pema..." Tenzin winced at this, though Pema seemed to smile at this mention. "She stole some of your father's underclothes and dipped them in some special...'Veggie-paste.' And then, after they 'looked clean' but smelled like veggies, she snuck them back to him, so when he put them on the Sky Bison's bit him on the butt!"

Jinora gaped in surprise, while Meelo, Ikki and Kya started chuckling and Pema laughed too with Bumi. Though Tenzin seemed to be red in the face.

"Oh, that was some of her best work," Kya gave Tenzin a sly look. "But it wasn't her last, or best. Right, baby bro?"

"I love how you're all taking such glee in the fact Vanessa tormented me in retribution for, as she called it, "Pulling my Sis-Cos into a wretched cage of lies and deception on that poor Lin girl." Which never made sense as the two never even met!" Tenzin exclaimed throwing up his hands.

"No, but she didn't appreciate the fact that you kept seeing me while you were still with Lin." Pema pointed out sharply. "And she didn't care for anyone to be subjected to any kind of wrong doing."

"Yeah...she sure was something, it's kinda sad it's been almost 10 years since I saw her last," Bumi rested his chin in his hand to stare out into space.

"Well, you'll get to see her today, Uncle Bumi." Jinora helpfully reminds him, thou gives a wary glance to her father. "Though, you'll probably have to spend ALL your time with her...just to make sure she doesn't torment dad."

"Then what will we do for fun?" Bumi pouts.

"Well, you can always introduce her to Lin." Pema said. "I mean, Lin deserves to know SOMEONE thought well enough of her and her predicament to take revenge for her. And Lin IS your current girlfriend."

Bumi gasped.

"You're right! I totally forgot! I can't introduce her to my ex-girlfriend/former roommate/friend with benefits!" Bumi exclaimed horrified.

"What kind of benefits?" Meelo inquired, thou Pema's "We'll explain it when you're older," was drowned out by Tenzin's choking croak at his brother using that term.

"Bumi, I doubt Lin's gonna be all hostile against a woman who once stuck two fire-ferrets down Tenzin's robe upon learning he was stringing her along," Kya advised him. Tenzin finally just grabbed his breakfast and hurried out of the room to Kya's amusement.

"Besides, that was years ago. And I'm certain my Cousin will adore Lin." Pema points out. "It's better than hiding her from Lin. We all know how well she responds to THAT sort of thing."

Pema picked up the letter and said, "It says here that she'll be in town for a day or two before leaving for Gaoling. And she's bringing the girls too!"

"She has kids?" At the thought of more people her own age coming to visit, Ikki instantly perked up.

"Yes," Pema said, "twin girls."

Bumi raised an eyebrow at the idea of Vanessa having kids, and chuckled a bit. For a moment he let his mind drift back to the many days (and many, many nights) they'd spent together and a little smile came to his face. He was pulled from his thoughts when Pema waved a small envelope in his face.

"This was inside," she said, "and it's got your name on it. She must've heard you were staying here."

"Well, let's just see what the little lady has to say." Bumi took the letter and opened it. As he started reading he didn't notice Kya sneaking up behind him.

"DEAR PAPA BEAR," she read loudly. The others laughed at the pet name and Bumi blushed and pushed his sister away before excusing himself, going to read the letter outside on the steps.

_Dear Papa Bear, _

_It's been a while since we last chatted. In fact, a lot has changed; though I know we parted on good terms. Though, technically we've not really been broken up. In which case, I apologize if my dating anyone has seemed like cheating. But if you cheated by dating someone, then it's all on par. Also, I'm coming to meet you to officially break up. No offense, but it HAS been 10 years...which brings me to the REAL reason I'm coming to see you, Bumi._

_As you've no doubt heard I have two girls, Amber and Lilly. I never got the chance to tell you, because your career sped up. And any attempts to try to get in contact with you by claiming to be your girlfriend would have me labeled as crazy stalker..._

Bumi snorted but smiled at the crack V made at herself.

_...As it happens, I will be in Republic City for a little longer than I mentioned to Lil Sis. I'm coming for two days, and heading to a fashion meet up in Gaoling. But after I'm done there I'll come back to stay for a week or so. Or however long you want me to stay. I'm not looking to restart a relationship; and I heard you're with someone through Sis, so it's just as well. But while I'm away for 5 days in Gaoling, and I apologize now, but I'll need you to look after my girls. And the reason I apologize (and make REALLY sure you're alone and reading this to yourself) is because...they're also YOUR girls._

Bumi paused and blinked in confusion.

_"Bumi, before you left for your year-long trip at sea, and basically we both lost track of each other in our own careers, I discovered you'd left something at my place after our three-day love-fest...A child. Two in fact. Lilly and Amber are your daughters. I know this is sudden and a shock, but security in the army made it almost impossible to get in contact. And I WANTED to meet you in person to explain and talk about this...I suppose I could've written a letter to Pema to give to you, but I didn't want to risk this getting read by someone else. And again, you were gone for long periods._

_I will be in Republic City soon. And we can talk more and I'll explain...and I hope, you'll agree to watch the girls. Pema and Tenzin could do it, and I relish the idea of Tenzin being IRKED immensely by my girls being there, but I know you, and I know you'll want to get to know them...I hope._

_Till then, still holding a tender spot for you, Papa Bear. _

_Hoping to still be your Friend and Confidant, _

_**Vanessa**_

_P.S. Ask Tenzin if he's done anything 'Special' for Pema lately. XD With all those kids, I suppose he didn't let my little prank deter him from having more children._

_P.S.S. What's this I hear about you 'bursting wind?' I guess I'll find out. See ya._

Once Bumi finished the letter he read it again, holding it closer to make sure it wasn't his eyes trying to fool him. Then he sat there for a minute just re-reading a few particular lines.

_They're also YOUR girls._

_A child. Two in fact._

_I know you'll want to get to know them..._

He read the words in her voice, each one bouncing around and echoing in his mind.

_YOUR girls...Amber and Lilly...I know this is sudden..._

_**Lilly and Amber are your daughters...**_

The wild man pressed his lips together and breathed in through his nose. In, out, in, out... Shaking, he stood up, the letter hanging loosely in his grip, eyes focused on the distance. He was so dazed, he barely noticed when Tenzin appeared next to him

"I don't understand why everyone is so excited. Honestly, Vanessa is a worse house-guest than you - and that's saying something!" When Bumi didn't respond in kind, Tenzin looked it his brother carefully. Noticing his apparent distress, the master softened his tone and asked, "Are you alright?"

Without looking at him, Bumi wordlessly held the letter out for Tenzin to take. The second his brother accepted, the Commander passed out cold.

"Bumi!" Tenzin knelt to inspect his brother and called for Kya to come help. While he was waiting Tenzin glanced over the note and by the time Kya arrived was kneeling over his brother, slack-jawed.

"What happened?" Kya cried, kneeling next to her siblings.

Dazed, Tenzin mumbled, "Where do I start?"

* * *

><p>Thirty minutes later, Bumi slowly sat up, breathing heavily. He rubbed his head and looked around to find Tenzin and Kya standing over him.<p>

"Bumi, what are you doing?"

Bumi looked at his sister in confusion. "What?"

"You're supposed to be down at the dock; the kids are here!"

"WHAT?"

Before he could ask any questions the two hauled him to his feet and dragged him down the stairs. At the bottom stood a tired woman with black hair, dressed head to toe in rags. Bumi blinked at her in shock. "Vanessa?"

"Hello Bumi," the woman coughed, trying to smile. "It's so good to see you..."

"Ness, what happened to you?"

"Oh, you mean this?" She gestured toward her attire. "Because you weren't there I had to sell all of my clothes to support the children. Speaking of which, there they are."

Bumi followed her point to see two rail thin kids with messy hair and sunken eyes standing off to the side. They were so small they looked like the wind could easily pick them up and blow them away. "Hi Daddy," one of them whispered in a rusty voice, while the other coughed into her hands. Bumi looked at them in horror, his heart breaking at the sight.

"You see what happens when you shirk your responsibilities?" Tenzin asked fiercely. "People suffer!"

"I can't believe you just neglected your kids this way for so long!" Kya got in her brother's face and cried, "What's wrong with you?!"

"How could you do this to my family?" Pema asked, tearfully going to hug her cousin.

"I-I-I..." Bumi stammered looking around at all the accusing glares, and kept going back to the pair of broken waifs. He stepped over to them and knelt. He tried to reach out to them but they flinched away from him. "But," he whispered. "But...I didn't know, I..."

"Bumi."

At the sound of the commanding voice, he turned his head to see Lin standing over him, frowning.

"Linny?" Bumi couldn't hide his relief at the sight of her.

She glared at him, and her green eyes cut into his heart. "I can't believe that you did this Bumi. How could you be so foolish?"

"But Lin..." he reached out to her but he was too late; she shook her head and turned, walking out of his life.

"No," he murmured as darkness started to creep in. He looked around to that Vanessa, Pema and his siblings had vanished. Even the dock itself was gone. "No..."

He turned back and saw that the children were still there, and had been joined by a man in airbender's clothes who was resting a hand on the shoulders of each girl. Bumi stared up at the man in shock.

"Dad?"

Avatar Aang stared down at his oldest son and slowly shook his head. Before Bumi could say a word, Aang wrapped his cloak around the two children and all three disappeared, leaving Bumi kneeling on the floor, alone.

"But..." he shuddered and pressed his hands to his face. "I didn't know..."

* * *

><p>"AAAAAHHHHHHH!"<p>

Bumi sat up straight panting, sweat pouring down his forehead. He was lying on a bed in the medical ward, his siblings and Pema standing nearby looking concerned. He looked at them and before they could ask he panted, "I can't do it! I can't be a father, I can't!"

"It's a little late to be saying that," Kya pointed out as she leaned over to put the wet cloth back on his forehead.

"Seriously," Tenzin said, holding up the letter, "what did you expect after a three day- wait a minute, a THREE day love fest?"

"Tenzin," Pema, groaned, "that's not important now! We need to be supporting Bumi."

She turned to her brother-in-law and said gently, "I know this is a lot to take in - we're all a little surprised. But if you work at it, I'm sure you can be a great father to the girls."

"Yeah," Kya agreed, putting a hand on her brother's shoulder, "who better to take care of kids than someone who thinks like one?"

Bumi calmed a bit and managed to grin at his sister's teasing. He looked around and said, "I just...I don't know how to...I don't KNOW."

"Who does?" Bumi turned to see his brother looking at him with understanding in his eyes. "Everyone feels that way at the beginning. I feel it every time a new baby comes along. But you learn as you go along; and as Pema said, we'll be here to help you."

Tenzin, putting a hand on Bumi's shoulder, asked his brother, "So...what are you going to do?"

Bumi hesitated, looking around at his family. Then, with a nervous smile he said, "I'm gonna try."

After a pause he added, "First thing's first though: I'm not gonna wear an airbending costume the first time I meet my kids. Say what you want Tenz, but yellow is not my color." Bumi hauled himself off the bed and, as he left to don his naval clothes with Kya following behind to talk to him, Pema looked over at Tenzin who seemed distracted. "Are you okay Honey?"

"Yeah, it's just...THREE DAYS?"

Pema sighed. This was going to be a long week.


	2. First Meeting

Bumi stood on the dock fidgeting nervously as Ikki and Meelo jumped up and down, babbling.

"When are they gonna get here?" Meelo asked.

"Yeah, how much longer Uncle Bumi?" asked Ikki.

"I don't know kids," Bumi replied as he scanned the horizon. So far the only boats to enter Yue Bay today had been cargo ships. For some reason the longer it took for them to arrive, the more nervous he became. Probably because he now had extra time to actually think about what was happening.

He looked down and adjusted his belt. While his United Forces garb still fit, it didn't look as strapping on him as it had eight months ago before he'd acquired his beer belly. Nonetheless, he still looked pretty good. The wild man wasn't sure how his daughters (his daughters...that phrase was going to take some getting used to...) would react to him, so he'd decided to try to look as impressive as possible. He'd even gone the extra length of combing his hair and adorning his coat with his various medals.

"Not here yet?" Bumi turned his head to see Pema and Kya coming to join him, Pema holding the baby.

"No," he groaned. "And it's making me feel worse."

Kya smiled gently and went to give her brother a side-hug. "Aw, come on big bro, you're gonna be fine! I mean today all you have to do is meet them. The hard part will be convincing them to stay once they meet you."

Bumi rolled his eyes as she laughed at him. Off to the side, Jinora arrived and asked of Pema, "Mom, why is Uncle Bumi so worried?"

Pema hesitated. The adults had decided to wait and explain the situation to the kids AFTER the girls had arrived and Bumi had met them. In the meantime she said, "Oh, he's just nervous about seeing his friend after so long."

"Oh," Jinora said, "okay." She let the question drop but stared at her mother suspiciously. "So, what kind of boat are they coming on?"

"I don't know," Pema replied. "The letter didn't say. Vanessa just told us to look for the shiny one, whatever that means."

"Could it have meant that?" Tenzin had arrived and now pointed over his wife's shoulder toward the mouth of the bay. There a large shiny shape was drifting. After a few minutes the shape became larger until it was shown to be a massive sleek, silver yacht cruising its way toward the Republic City harbor.

"Whoa," the group said, awed by the luxurious ship.

"Where are they going?" Meelo asked as he tugged on his uncle's coat sleeve. Bumi replied, "The boat's too big to land here on the island, so they're taking it to deeper waters."

"I guess we'll meet them over there," Tenzin said and started toward the stables to prepare Oogi for the short trip. Bumi stopped him and said, "Actually Tenz, would it be okay with you if I went on my own?"

Tenzin looked his brother up and down, saw how nervous he was and realized that this was the sort of thing where the fewer the people, the better.

"Okay," he consented, "if you're sure."

"Great!" Bumi said, forcing a grin. "In fact, I think I'll go over on the glider - make a big entrance, you know?"

"I'm sure they'd love that," Tenzin agreed.

"Yeah." Bumi shuffled from one foot to the other, trying to make himself leave but feeling too apprehensive to do so. Finally Kya came over and punched him in the arm saying, "Well, what are you waiting for? You're gonna have to meet them either way. It'd be best not to make them wait."

"Yes, you know how Vanessa hates being kept waiting," Tenzin said in a light, teasing tone. Bumi smirked at his brother and put an arm around his neck saying, "Oh, trying to be the funny one are we Tenzy? Bet you won't be so funny after a noogie!"

Bumi pulled his brother into a headlock and ground his knuckles into his bald head, just hard enough to make the airbender cry out. Finally he shoved his brother off saying, "Oh, go on, get out of here." But Bumi could see that his brother was smiling just a bit.

With a deep breath Bumi took up a nearby glider and, with an airbending boost, took off toward the harbor.

Meanwhile on the dock, Lin Beifong was in the process of making an arrest.

"But I swear, I have no idea how that stolen cargo ended up on my ship," the greasy captain was shouting. "I've been framed!"

"Sure you were," Lin said as she handed the man over to her officers. "And Song here is a Fairy Princess."

"Hey, don't give away my secret, Chief," the officer joked, eliciting laughs from the others. Captain Saikhan walked over, shaking his head in amazement.

"Honestly Chief, I don't know how you do it. That was one smooth operation."

"Well, you just have to know how to play it," Lin said with a shrug. "Spot the little details. In this case I noticed that the water level on the ship was too high for shipment of food goods, meaning there had to be extra weight coming from somewhere.

"Now, how much you wanna bet that once we start questioning people it'll turn out to be an inside job?" Saikhan asked.

"I'd say there's a good chance," Lin said as he looked at the ships in the harbor. "These rich people are always looking for a little extra. Especially these yacht owners."

"Speaking of which, look at that whaleshark," said Saikhan as he pointed at the silver monster coming in. "How many million do you think that's worth?"

Lin watched as the yacht came in and dropped anchor next to the ship they'd just finished searching. People up and down the boardwalk looked on in amazement as the gangplank dropped, waiting to see what sort of people could own such a thing.

"You coming back to the station?" Saikhan asked. He gestured toward the car. Lin shook her head saying, "No, I'm gonna hang out here for a minute. I don't like the looks of this ship."

"Suit yourself." Lin watched her officers drive off and then turned back to the ship.

After a moment a figure appeared and started her way down the ramp. The woman was wrapped in a silver dress with a chain around her waist, her black hair hanging long and loose. Lin noticed a short man was following her and taking notes as she talked.

"Okay, so send that one to the Southern Department and then get me word on how things are going with that shoe problem we had; honestly I don't know why those idiots can't handle the concept of a RED sandal. Oh sure, they can do cherry, they can do pepper, but can they manage just plain red? NO!"

The woman stopped talking and noticed Lin watched her. She waved in a friendly manner and walked over.

"Hey there officer! How's it going? Sorry if my yacht is blocking your view, but I couldn't find a better place to park the damn thing."

Lin raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" The woman stepped closer and Lin couldn't help but stare at her weird, nearly violet eyes. "And might I ask what brings you to Republic City?"

"Actually," the woman said as she looked around the dock, "I'm here to meet someone. You wouldn't happen to know someone named Commander Bumi, would you?"

At the sound of her boyfriend's name coming out of this admittedly attractive woman's mouth, Lin felt a pang of possessiveness. "Yes, I do. And might I ask how you know him?"

The woman ran a hand through her hair as she considered the question. "Well, it's sort of complicated, but technically speaking he's my boyfriend."

Lin felt her heart seize up, and a deep cold feeling washed over her, like the time she'd been entombed in ice by a 'Red Monsoon' member had done to her in her rookie days. She'd quickly been freed but one never forgets that kind of cold; except for the horrifying chilly feeling she felt now. Her hands clenched tightly at her side and she had a POWERFUL urge to lash out her metal rope and hang up this woman this TRAMP, who dared to claim Bumi was hers, but also, she wanted to beat the ever-loving tar out of Bumi and demand an explanation. And then throw his limp body into the Bay, if it wasn't satisfactory.

These feelings went through her in a flash and she urged herself to calm down and assess the situation. But before she could ask any questions, the stranger started laughing.

"Ahahaaha!" The woman's loud laugh bursts as she covered her mouth with her hand, eyes shut and bent over slightly with the force of her laugh.

"Oh, sweet Phoenix, I haven't laughed like that in forever," The woman wiped away a tear, and Lin felt more conflicted and confused. Especially when the woman looked at her with a warm expression and matching smile.

"It's just, my claiming to be Bumi's girlfriend when we've not been together for almost 11 years." She shook her head, letting her raven locks flow over her shoulder to dangle in front of her chest as she stroked one.

"But, then again, we never properly broke up," She explained, and Lin felt something pop in her chest. A sense of relief and befuddlement.

"Allow me to introduce myself," She gave a quick spin, grabbing her dress before facing Lin again and giving the Police Chief a dramatic and elegant curtsy.

"Miss Vanessa Chen, at your service," She uprights herself to give Lin an amused smile. "And you might be...?"

Lin felt unsure, but she was certain 10 minutes or more passed, before the man behind Vanessa cleared his throat, snapping Lin out of her trance.

"Bei Fong!" She reaches out a hand to Vanessa, who accepted it and shook back firmly. "Chief Bei Fong."

"NO!" Vanessa breaks out into a bright grin, clasping her hand to her cheeks in disbelief. "Not LIN Bei Fong, Tenzin's old girlfriend? Daughter of Lin Bei Fong the first metal-bender, first lieutenant of the Republic City Metal-Police force?"

Lin blinked in surprise, "You know all that?"

"Well, of course I do!" Vanessa chuckled, dropping her hands to place them on Lin's shoulders. "I'm Pema's Cousin!" She winked and leaned to whisper conspiratorially into Lin's ear. "Matter of fact, I stuffed two fire ferrets down ol' "Steel-poles" pants when I heard he'd broken up with you, just to go right around and date my Sweet Sis-cos."

"You did!?" Lin was stunned, flattered and more than a little curious. "Wait...'Steel Pole?'"

"HA! That's what I always suspected was up his ass." She slaps Lin on the shoulder and Lin was briefly reminded of her mother's affectionate punches. Vanessa turned to talk to the man in a happily surprised tone.

"Who would've thought it? The first person I meet back in Republic City, and it's the Chief of Police and former lover of my old 'prank-victim.'" Vanessa snickered, playing with the gold chain around her waist.

"I imagine ol' Steel Pole's sensing a 'disturbance in the spirit world' if he hasn't already been told by Pema I was coming, and gone into hiding, right, Xiao?"

"Indeed, Madame." The man gave a long-suffering sigh. "Shall I have the luggage brought down?"

"Oh, of course!" Vanessa snapped her fingers and turns to Lin. "That reminds me, I have to introduce you to my girls!" She paused and added, "It's so odd; I used to defend you; you're my idol really. Tough as nails, no-nonsense, rose through the ranks despite your gender and paved your own path. And I wind up having two girls, just like your mother did."

She took Lin's hand and before Lin could protest, the fashion designer dragged her toward the ship with eager steps.

"I must say, I thought I was looking forward to that Fashion Convention, but this is even better." Vanessa said to Lin, who finally planted her feet firmly on the wooden floor before they reached the stairs that led up to the ship.

"Hey! STOP!" Lin pulls Vanessa around grabs both of Vanessa's hands with her own tightly. "Look, I don't know who you think you are but..."

"MOM! I stop to get my books, and you're already getting arrested?"

Lin paused and looked up in surprise - there were two girls standing up on the top of the stairs. They were identical in height, and had similar face shapes and pale skin, but the similarities ended there. One had jet-black hair that was barely being contained in a ponytail, with the parts that were loose splaying out in random directions. She wore a white buttoned shirt and pants, a green vest, and stood with her hip cocked to the side in a way that screamed 'trying-to-look-tough.' The other one stood erect and wore her hair in a flawless dark-brown bun, her amber eyes peeking out from behind her bangs. She wore light blue pants and red silk coat with blue trim and flowing sleeves. They were both frowning at the scene below.

The red clad one was the one that caught Lin's attention, serious stare, shaking her head and hands on her hips made her look years older than she was, but that gesture drew Lin's eyes to the girl behind her who Lin was startled to see had wild dark hair, and a familiar pair of eyes.

That was when it hit her: these girls looked just like Bumi!

"Oh, My Jewel, it's nothing like that..." Vanessa quickly pulled her hands free, and pulled Lin into a cheek to cheek hug which the cop was too stunned to fight off. "I was just excited to show off my two favorite girls in the world to Lin Bei Fong."

"What do your models Mira and Keller have to do with us?" The girl behind the first girl said impishly, holding onto a bison shaped stuffed toy like a lifeline.

"She means us, Lilly." The other girl says, though her frown dropped as she headed down the steps toward Lin and her mother.

"I must introduce you to my girls - they are the flowers and jewels of my life." Vanessa excitedly tittered as she walked behind the girls, and dropped down to her knees, pulling up her dress train to make sure she wouldn't be pinned down. She wrapped her arms around the twin girls, and nuzzled the tops of their heads.

"This little spitfire is my jewel, Amber." Vanessa motions to the first girl, with her hair done up with a jade hair pin. "And here is my 'Tiger-Lilly' Lilly."

"...Twins you say?" Lin seemed to process this finally, dropped down on one knee to appraise the two girls.

"So, come along with your mother on a long boring business trip?" Lin asked them.

"Naw. Mama says she doesn't want us exposed to the cutthroat world of Fashion and the insipid backstabbing, harsh pressure and eating disorders of her work." Lilly spouts out in a manner that was very insightful and had Lin blinking in surprise.

"You can recite THAT, but you can't remember what you studied for your History Lesson, or that it was the Battle between Firelord Ozai that restored Avatar Aang's ability to form the avatar-state?" Vanessa exclaims incredulously, as Lilly just grins at her mother and shrugs.

"What can I say? I absorb what I find interesting."

"Enough chit-chat," Amber said pointing a finger at Lin. "Mom, why is she here?"

"Honey-badger, be nice," said Vanessa. "Lin's not here to arrest me. Wait, you're not, are you?"

"No," Lin said. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and added, "At least not yet."

At about that moment Bumi came sweeping over the harbor on his glider, headed for the yacht. "Okay," he said to himself, trying to get pumped up. "You can do this. Just go down there, stick the landing, impress them, then become the BEST. DAD. EVER."

As he started to decrease his altitude he muttered, "I can do this, I can do this, I can-" That was when he spotted Lin standing on the dock standing face to face with none other than Vanessa. The sight sent a bolt of panic through Bumi that caused him to emit a loud, "AH!" This caught the women's attention and they looked up just in time to see him lose his lift. He came in too fast and crashed into Xiao who was loaded down with luggage. Bags flew everywhere and the two men groaned.

Lilly burst out laughing at the sight and Amber's frown intensified as the strange man crawled out of the twisted pile of luggage rubbing his head. She continued to frown as he stood up and faced them.

"Um..." he said slowly, "Hi...everyone..."

"Well Bumi, is that really you?" Vanessa looked him up and down carefully. "Why you've hardly changed! I mean you've filled out a bit but otherwise-"

"Bumi," Lin interrupted, "you have A LOT of explaining to do."

"Yes, dear," Bumi said sheepishly. Vanessa's eyes widened as she looked back and forth between the two and realization hit.

"Oh," she said to Lin, "are you his...?"

"For now, yes," the Chief replied while glaring at the wild man. Bumi didn't catch the glare though, because he had finally spotted the girls and couldn't take his eyes off them. He observed that one had his eyes and the other his dark brown hair, but besides that they looked too pretty to be his children.

"Hey there," he said while giving them a nervous little wave.

"Nice landing." The black-haired one shifted her toy bison from one arm to the other and looked him up and down.

"Well, now, girls, let's not be too shy." Vanessa gave Bumi a teasing smile. "Come introduce yourself to Papa Bear."

"Papa Bear!?" Lin's eyes turned from glaring, to bulging in shock at the nickname.

"I know right?" Amber looks up at the older woman. "It's not like we're bears, I mean...sure, my mother likes to gulp honey from the jar..."

"ONCE!" Vanessa whirls around to point a finger at her daughter. "And it was...my "Moon Time."

Bumi blushed at the mention and Lin seemed unable to make sense of this situation, as Vanessa pulled Bumi closer, ignoring her assistant who flailed to pick up the clothes and put them back into the trunks, before they became soiled.

"Now, enough about my embarrassing visits from 'My Cousin.'" V, chuckled as she pulled Bumi by his arm over to the girls, though she stopped a few steps away from them, causing Bumi to lurch forward and get jerked back to stand beside the eccentric woman.

"I've already introduced them to The Chief here." V, winked at Lin, making her scrunch up her face in a confused and slightly annoyed frown. "So, you can just formally introduce yourself. Though they know who you are already." She whispers the last part to him before hurrying back over to Xiao, shouting at him not to get her new gold kimono damaged.

Bumi looked back to the girls, feeling like he was being stared down by his father and mother after a prank; and with Lin there giving him a blank stare it made him even more he felt a surge of relief to see how healthy they looked, and wearing such nice clothing.

"Uhh...Well, this is awkward...but..." Bumi then flashed what he hoped was a winning smile, and waved a hand at the girls, keeping his distance until he felt they extended an invitation. "Hello, I'm Bumi, your father."

Hearing the admittance had Lin frozen in place, uncertain of what to do.

"We know who you are...Father." The red clad one seemed slightly reluctant to call him that, but that calling him 'Commander Bumi' would be stretching it formality-wise.

"Yes, Dad, err...Commander Daddy, Papa Bumi...er...Uh..Sir?" Lilly seemed to flounder, not as certain as her sister was in how to address her father.

Bumi Chuckles, crouching down on one knee to smile at the black-haired girl. "Well, just 'Father, or Pops' will do...if you're comfortable with it. I mean, I don't want you to feel pressured or forced to accept me right away."

"Because you got our mom knocked up ten years ago and due to your busy military career she was unable to get in contact with you, thus you had no idea about us? Resulting in Mom having to raise us without your support and create her fashion empire?" Lilly let this out in one long sentence, which had both Bumi and Lin staring at the little girl in wonder.

"It's a BIG part of it." Amber snarks at her sister, but let a small smile come across her lips anyways as she turns to Bumi.

"Hi, I'm Amber." She curtsied to her father, suddenly feeling nervous. At seeing his daughter's apprehension Bumi put her to ease by crossing his arm over his chest to lean forward in a bow.

"M'lady." Bumi said in a sophisticated manner, causing the serious girl to crack a grin.

"AND I'M HER PARTNER IN CRIME!" Lilly shouted excitedly, hoping to get him to smile and bow to her. She waved her stuffed bison excitedly, causing it to fly through the air. This earned a cry of alarm from Lilly, but it was caught by Bumi, who examined the stuffed toy in interest.

"Partner in Crime?" Bumi asked in a mock suspicious tone. "Is that why Linny is here, to arrest you two?"

Amber huffed a laugh but Lilly looked down and began to play with the buttons on her shirt in a bashful manner.

"Yes, Father, we've committed a series of cookie thefts, water-buckets suspended on the door assaults and a rash of 'Sticky-Sap on the seat of the chair' vandalisms." Amber drawled out with an eye roll, earning a loud laugh from Bumi.

"Don't say that!" Lilly shook her sister in alarm, honestly believing she was confessing to their new dad. "He'll ground us! Or worse, he'll keep Flumi from me!"

Bumi blinked in surprise, looking at the stuffed Bison in his hand, before handing it back to his daughter. She took it back with a soft 'thank you' and she hugged the bison closely.

"Flumi?" Bumi asks, tilting his head curiously at her. Amber nudged her sister and whispered, "Tell him your name!"

"LILLY!" She shouted, then quieted down slightly. "Lilly, my name is Lilly...and you're our Dad, Bumi...I named him..." She gestured to her stuffed toy in her arms. "After you, sorta...He's all fluffy and...I love him, and I decided since you couldn't be with Ma or sis, I figured, I could mix your name and the word 'Fluffy' and it'd be like your were around. So, you wouldn't feel guilty or bad, since you were away till now."

"Subtle. Lilly..." Amber sighed. "But yeah...I mean, it's his name...and Mom told us you were shaggy and hairy..." Bumi cocked an eye and looks over his shoulder at Vanessa forcing Xiao to sit on a trunk to force the lid shut. Lin let out a snort of amusement, quickly covering it up and hoping no one heard it.

"And...I hope you don't mind, but Mom said you would've liked to be with us if you could've...so..." Lilly was cut off when Bumi placed a hand on her shoulder, and gave her a bright smile.

"That's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me...and yes, if I'd known about you girls, you bet your boots I would've come to see you right away." He smiles at the two girls. "I bet you girls were beautiful when you were born."

"As opposed to now?" Amber snarked with a raised eyebrow.

"Mom says Amber was an ugly baby." Lilly snickers, causing Amber to let out a growl of offense at her twin.

"I was not! And She Did Not Say That!" Amber snapped, but Lilly keeps chuckling.

"She said you looked like The Dragon of the West Iroh without his teeth!" Lilly continued. She let out a squeal when Amber lunged at her, but jumped to the side causing Amber to fall flat on her face. Startled, Lin and Bumi jumped forward as Vanessa hurried over and grabbed Lilly as she tried to run past her to escape her sister's wrath.

"Lilly Oma Chen, what have I told you about inciting your sister into attempting murder!?" Vanessa scolded the girl who tried to hide her face behind her stuffed toy.

Bumi helped his other daughter up, face and outfit was now dirty and dusty from her fall, her face bright red from embarrassment. Lin stood to the side not sure whether she should approach or not.

"You okay, Princess?" Bumi questioned the girl as he attempted to dust her off. She shuffled under his hands and finally jerked with a tight frown.

"I'm Fine! And I'm Not Your Princess!" She huffed, turning from Bumi to cross her arms. "I Barely Know You And I Don't Need Help! I Didn't Need You Before and I Don't Need You Now."

Bumi leaned back with a slightly hurt expression, and then looked at Lin and the hurt turned back into awkwardness.

"My Jewel, please, don't be so terse." Vanessa scolded as she walked over, Lilly's hand in her own. "And Lilly, you apologize to Amber. I don't need you two getting into fights while I'm gone. Iron Pole and your Aunt don't know how to handle you two, like I do, so I'd appreciate if you didn't get into your usual turtle-duck squabbles."

"Take care of us. What are we, Fire-Ferrets!?" Amber shot at her mother, but a pursing of V's lips, causes Amber to drop her head in shame. "I'm sorry, Mother..."

"Come here..." Vanessa sighed, reaching out to Amber, who went over and gave Lilly a sour look. V, gently turned both their faces up to look at her own.

"Now look, it isn't very often we get a chance to visit Republic City. In fact, we've not been here for ten years, 13 for me," Vanessa began. "And I know this is awkward, but this is a prime chance to get to know your family. And more importantly, your Father." She looked up at Bumi and the twins followed her gaze.

"He's just learned about you and I know this is hard for him, just as it is for you two. But I couldn't very well NEVER introduce you to him, could I?" She asks, and the question earned her an in-sync reply of "No, Mama," from the girls as Vanessa continued on.

"Now, I've never REALLY forced you to do something if you didn't want to..." Amber looked up to open her mouth. "OR," V, furrowed her eyes to silence Amber, "That wasn't beneficial, or good for you two. Now, I'm asking, no...BEGGING you two. PLEASE. Give the city, and everyone in it a chance? Give your cousins, Aunts and Uncle a chance. But more importantly, give HIM a chance?" She pointed to Bumi, who straightened up.

"I've had you two to myself for over ten years. And it would be SELFISH of me to want to hog you wonderful little honey-badger moles to myself," She whispered as she kissed them both on the cheek. "And we can't be mean to your father, can we?"

"No, you're right..."

"Yeah, we are pretty wonderful..."

The two girls looked at each and nodded in agreement. They hugged briefly as way of apology. While Vanessa looked up at Bumi with a flustered and slightly awkward smile.

"Better put your learning cap on, Papa Bear." She told him. "I've got two days to give you a crash course on learning EVERYTHING you can to look after them while I'm gone, and these little cubs have claws."

Bumi gave her an equally nervous smile and said, "Well, I'm all ready to learn."

"In that case let's start now. First off, Lilly can be a bit hyper at times."

"WHAT'S UP REPUBLIC CITYYYYYY!?"

Bumi looked over V's shoulder to see the black-haired girl standing on top of wooden post and shouting for all to hear. He looked back at her mother and said, "I can see that."

V grins before adding, "She can be a bit much at times, but Amber's pretty good at getting her under control."

As she spoke Amber went to her sister and pulled her off the post. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"Saying hi! Making sure the whole city knows that I've arrived. Wouldn't want the boys to miss out."

Bumi overheard this and raised an eyebrow at V. "Boys?"

"Yeah, she's a little boy-crazy," she explained.

"Gee, I wonder where she got that one from."

The two laughed as Lin looked on in annoyance. "Well," she interrupted, "I hate to break things up, but shouldn't you be getting to the Island?"

Bumi nodded and said, "Lin's right Ness; we'd better go catch the ferry."

As they gathered up the bags Bumi pulled Lin to the side to say, "I'm sorry you had to find out like this. But truth be told I only found out this morning myself."

"It's fine," Lin said half-heartedly. "I'll get used to it - to them, I mean. I'm just worried about you."

The wild man shrugged and said, "No need to worry about me. I can handle a couple of kids." Then he gave her a big smile that made it impossible for her to admit that it wasn't the kids she was worried about.

"Can we go already?" Amber asked as she trudged past the two. Lilly ran after her, calling over her shoulder, "Ya better hurry old man!"

"Old man?" Bumi shouted after his daughter, trying to hide a laugh. "I'll show you old!" He kissed Lin on the cheek before taking off after the kids. Lin turned to Vanessa and gave her a cordial nod.

"I hope you enjoy your stay on the Island. And good luck with Tenzin."

Vanessa laughed. "Luck? Honey, I'm looking forward to it."

Lin watched as the four walked away, the assistant scampering after them. She hadn't felt this conflicted in a while. On the one hand she wasn't one to get in the way of other people's affairs. But seeing the girls run off, their father chasing them, the mother lagging behind and laughing at the sight, she couldn't help but feel like there was a new family coming together. One that didn't have enough room for her.


	3. Getting to Know You

Back on the Island, Tenzin was in the living room explaining the situation to Korra, Mako and Bolin.

"Alright…" the Master Airbender glanced over his shoulder to make sure none of the children were around. "We haven't told the kids this yet, but I think it's best if I explain to the three of you up front. Pema's cousin, Vanessa Chen, is coming to visit. That would've been bad enough considering that she hates me and is out to make my life miserable. But then we found out something even more surprising!"

"What?" Korra asked, tilting her head. "Why are you being so cryptic?"

"Because it's so bizarre!"

"What is?" Bolin asked. "I'm getting confused."

"Just listen," Tenzin huffed, holding up his hands for quiet. He glanced around one more time before saying, "Back when she was living in Republic City, Vanessa had a love affair with my brother. Now we've found out that her two children, her twin girls, are Bumi's!"

The three teenagers' eyes blew wide and Korra's jaw dropped. "No. Way."

"Wait," Bolin said, trying to comprehend this information. "Bumi has _kids_?"

"Now there's an image," said Mako.

"Now, I need to tell you a few things before I lock myself up in the tower," Tenzin began to hurriedly explain to Korra.

"Tenzin, honestly, you're overreacting. I'm certain Vanessa has changed since then," Pema scolded her husband as she glared at him from her place on the floor, rattling at toy in front of Rohan.

"I know that woman, Pema, and your Cousin, like a spotted cougar-bear, NEVER changes her spots!" Tenzin's eyes widened in horror when knocking was heard at the door to the temple.

"Oh no, she's here!" Tenzin gasped. Korra chuckled, and Mako headed to the door as Bolin quirked an eyebrow at Tenzin.

"Come on. I'm sure she's a nice, sweet lady, who's mellowed out since having your brother's _illegitimate children_," Bolin tried to assure Tenzin, though Korra nudged him on the 'illegitimate' part.

Mako rubbed his forehead at Bolin's bluntness, and opened the door where Vanessa was waiting on the other side, two bags in her hands. She let out a delighted squeal, raising her arms up in a presenting manner.

"WE'RE HERE! HAHAHAAHAH!" She let out a peculiar cackle of a laugh and hurried across the room toward Pema, throwing the two bags at Tenzin, the sudden weight causing him to crash to the floor.

"PEMA!" Vanessa cried out in joy.

"VANESSA!" Pema lets out a similar cry of excitement and happiness to see her cousin after so long. The two soon met and wrapped their arms around each other. Vanessa even lifted Pema and spun her around with her feet flying through the air. Pema let out a surprised yelp, but laughed at the display, as Vanessa just laughed, overjoyed to be reunited with her Cousin.

"_Mellowed Out_ huh?" Tenzin questioned Bolin as he and Korra picked up the bags and helped him to his feet.

"Oh, Lil Sis, it's been too long!" Vanessa put Pema back onto her feet and pulled back with a wide smile. "I swear, you haven't changed a bit. Still gorgeous, still dainty, still spunky and...still wearing the same outfit?"

"It's the typical garb for the wife of an Air-bender, V." Pema laughed, smoothing her hair where a few strands came loose. "I'm not liable to wear anything else, even for special occasions."

"Well, you will now, and I refuse to let you decline my offering," Vanessa exclaimed. "After all, what's the point in having a Fashion Goddess for a Surrogate Sister, if I can't spoil you with gorgeous clothes to make you look fabulous? Plus, I have other clothes too, for the little ones as well."

"Well...Tenzin might disagree, the clothes are part of the Air Culture." Pema says.

"Who?" V, questioned.

"My Husband," Pema stated in a deadpan manner.

"Oh, right, right, the goat-head." V, casually flipped her hair over her shoulder, inadvertently hitting Tenzin the face. She spun around to face the Air-Monk, who gave her a welcoming smile, if off-set by the nervous and irritated twitch of his face.

"Hello, Vanessa. Don't I get a hug too?" Tenzin opened his arms in an attempt to be friendly and avoid any unpleasantness.

"Go Hug An Erupting Volcano, Iron-Pole," V snapped, though she sighed when Pema gently shoved her shoulder in reprimand.

"No, I take that back, sorry." Vanessa said grudgingly. "It's good to see you again, Tenzin. You're looking..." Her face scrunched up comically. "Bald? Yes, I'd say you're even balder than the last time I saw you..." Korra and Bolin started snickering. "Although, while it's not growing on your head it seems to be coming out your face and ears quite well."

"Oh, V, stop it!" Pema scolded, but was unable to hide her giggle. "And I want you to say 'Hello' to Korra, Mako and Bolin."

"What's up guys?" Vanessa grabbed each of their hands and gave them a quick shake, smiling broadly. "So good to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you," Korra replied.

"Nice to meet you," said Mako.

"So you're Bumi's baby mama?" Bolin asked.

Mako elbowed his brother and the others sighed. V just laughed and said, "Sure am. And proud of it! If I had to have someone's kids, I can't think of a more perfect guy."

Tenzin rolled his eyes at the word 'perfect' being used to describe his brother. V noticed this and glared at him. "You got something to say there, Iron-Pole?"

"No, of course not," Tenzin sighed, looking away.

The tension was interrupted by Lilly crashing through the doors, shouting, "WE'RE HERE!" Amber came up next to her, looking at everyone blankly, and Bumi and Xiao came in last struggling with the bags.

"There you are," V said and pulled her girls over. "Say hello to your Aunt Pema, Avatar Korra, and their friends Mako and Bolin."

"Greetings," Amber said with a respectful nod to the group.

"Hey, hey, Hi," Lilly said to the first three. When she got to Bolin she stopped, smiled, and said, "And _hello_ to you."

"And," Bumi said, "meet your Uncle Tenzin, also known as Master Stick-in-the-mud."

"Greetings, Master Stick-in-the-mud." Lilly actually put her palms together and bowed to Tenzin while everyone laughed. Tenzin looked unimpressed and Amber just sighed.

Lilly looks up at Tenzin curiously.

"Is that the stick mom says is shoved up your..." Lilly began, but Amber grabbed her arm and shook her head rapidly to shut Lilly up.

"Haha!" Korra laughed. "Well, they're certainly your kids, Bumi."

"I know, that's why they're so gorgeous," Bumi bragged. Behind him Xiao let out a wheeze as he finally put the bags down on the floor.

"Ah!" V, looks slightly embarrassed. "Right, everyone these are, errr... Bumi, would you prefer to introduce the girls?"

"It would be an honor." Bumi grinned widely.

"People, I'd like you to meet the little ladies. First we have the lovely Lilly, the little spitfire over there."

"But _you_ can call me Lil," she said, leaning close to Bolin. The earthbender raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"And this little smartie is Amber," Bumi continued, resting a hand on Amber's head. Amber frowned, grunted and pushed him off, going to stand next to her mother. Bumi looked hurt for a second but managed a grin as he said, "Spritely things, aren't they?"

"That's one way to put it," Tenzin said flatly.

"You'll have to forgive, My jewel," Vanessa chuckled, gently cupping her daughter's head in her hands. "She gets disgruntled when she hasn't eaten breakfast, and the ship we were on only had those nasty, disgusting sea-prunes to eat."

"Hey, I happen to like Sea-Prunes!" Korra belted out a laugh.

"Of course you do, Korra," V sighed. "Your Water Tribe. I can't remember how many times I had to look at those things when I was with Bumi, since his mother liked to invite me over to dinner so often."

"Well, you ate them, didn't you?" Bumi reminded her in confusion.

"I didn't eat them at all! I just tossed them into that potted plant in the hallway, outside Tenzin's meditation room," Vanessa informed him. A choked yelp came from Tenzin.

"That was my prized 'Foggy-Swamp' Lumi Tree! IT DIED THAT YEAR!" Tenzin exclaimed incredulously.

"Huh. I guess it didn't like Sea-prunes either," Bolin joked, earning a long laugh from Lilly, causing everyone to look at her oddly.

"Oh, Bolin, your _so_ Funny!" She then latched onto his leg. "And so buff too. Do you work out?"

"Errr...Yes? I'm a Pro-bender. Er, well, used to be...Pro-bender. And Mover Star." Bolin bragged, though the way Lilly looked up at him in awe made him a little nervous.

"Yes, I believe it was called "Nitwit, Hero of the South." Amber let out in a sarcastic drawl.

"Nuktuk, Hero of the South, actually. Though I do sorta agree with ya. It was a pretty silly show," Mako remarked, earning a blush when he winked at Amber, which caused Bolin to pout at his mover role being put down.

"I'll have you know my Mover had a GRAND INFLUENCE ON THE WORLD!" Bolin stated dramatically.

"And is that why you've not been hired for a sequel, or is it because the Director of the 'Mover' Varrick, was a cheat and a crook?" Mako reminded his brother, who deflated at that reminder. Lilly patted him on the cheek comfortingly.

"Varrick, that's Zhu Li's boss, isn't it?" Vanessa remarked casually.

"You know Varrick?" Korra exclaimed in surprise.

"Well, I knew Zhu Li first. She's Xiao's sister. Xiao is my personal assistant." She gestures to Xiao, who was bringing in some more stuff including a playhouse, which he was pushing in an attempt to move it.

"BUT HE WON'T BE ANY LONGER IF HE SCUFFS UP THAT PRESENT FOR THE KIDS!" She shouted, startling everyone and causing Rohan to let out a small wail.

"Oh, no! Xiao look what you did!" She said in worry, causing Xiao to lean against the playhouse and roll his eyes as his boss scurried over to Baby Rohan. She picked him up, before gently rocking him to settle him down.

"You upset the baby, sweet-little cup of Cabbage-Juice," V cooed to him.

"That's Rohan, your newest, youngest nephew," Pema explains, smiling at how Rohan babbled at V when she started baby speaking to him.

"Oh, girls come and look at your cousin. He's adorable." Amber and Lilly scurried over to look at their cousin, who gummed on his fingers.

"Yeah, he's cute. But I can think of someone Cuter," Lilly said looking over her shoulder to give Bolin a seductive glance, which on a ten-year-old was mildly disturbing. Bolin backed away, and startled when he bumped into Bumi, who gave Bolin his best "Papa Bear" stare.

"Ahhahah...thanks, Lilly, but I'm uh...unavailable." Bolin wringed his hands nervously, looking from Lilly to her Father, who was enjoying the fact he could be 'overprotective' of his daughter. Even if he knew Bolin wasn't a danger, it still amused him.

"He's certainly an attractive looking baby," Amber remarked, brushing her fingers against Rohan's cheek as he gurgled.

"Yes, fortunately, that comes from your Aunt's side; so far he only seems to have inherited your Uncle's tendency to _drool._" Vanessa joked.

"I do not drool!" Tenzin snapped, some spittle flying from his mouth. He promptly slapped a hand over his mouth, mortified.

"Uh-Huh. So, where are the other little _Fire-ferrets_?" V, asks Penma, giving a sly glance at Tenzin, who turned redder but just turned and stormed out of the hall.

"Oh, they're in the dining room. Lunch is about to be served." Penma answers.

"Oh, good, I'd hate to meet them BEFORE they've eaten. I hear they can be quite feral, and more likely to bite you," V said.

"Mom, you're thinking of Wolf-Bats," Amber corrected her mother.

"No, unfortunately that applies to my kids," Penma explained nervously. "I guess we gotta go and introduce you; they'll be ecstatic to see you girls."

"Well, who wouldn't be?" Lilly asked, rushing ahead of the others.

They went to the dining room where Jinora, Ikki and Meelo were having lunch. Lilly burst into the room, ran over and started talking a mile a minute.

"HI! My name is Lilly and I'm your cousin and this is my sister Amber and we are _so_ happy to meet you guys, what are your names?"

The three airbending siblings paused, amazed at the speed this strange girl spoke at. They'd always thought only Ikki could talk that fast. So, not to be outdone, the seven-year-old geared herself up and started talking as well.

"I'm Ikki and this is Jinora and Meelo, we're glad to meet you too, and why is your hair all spiky?"

Soon it became Battle of the Motor Mouths as Ikki and Lilly fought for dominance in the conversation. Amber strolled over and sat down across from Jinora. The two stared at each other for a moment, glanced at their respective sisters, then turned back to each other and shared a small smile, having reached a silent understanding.

In the meantime Meelo was looking back and forth between the two sets of girls, observing.

"So how long are you going to be here?" Ikki asked.

"About a week," replied Lilly.

"Really? Because the letter said you guys were going to be here for a day or two."

"Yeah, but we're going to be staying longer so that we can get to know our Dad."

"Who's your Dad?"

"Bumi."

Jinora's eyes widened and Ikki's jaw dropped. "What!?" Ikki cried. "But he's my Uncle Bumi! He' can't be your DAD!"

"Yes he can, Ikki," Jinora said carefully.

"But I don't want him to be," Ikki said and pouted.

"Join the club," Amber said.

"This is interesting," Jinora said in a contemplative tone. "On the one hand this means Uncle Bumi probably won't have as much time for us. On the other hand, we have cousins now."

Ikki beamed suddenly and said, "Hey, yeah! Cousins! We've never had cousins before!"

"Neither have we," Lilly said. The two girls grinned at each other, already planning countless schemes they could get into.

Bumi came over then and Ikki jumped out of her seat and ran to her Uncle, shouting, "Uncle Bumi this is so great! This means our family is so much bigger and you have kids and this is great!"

The Commander chuckled and hoisted Ikki onto his shoulder saying, "Well, I'm glad you're so happy! Here I was afraid you kids wouldn't get along."

"Oh, kids can usually find a way to work things out," Pema said as she cleared the plates from the table. "I had a feeling they'd become friends."

"Your mother's feelings are rather accurate," Amber said to Jinora. Jinora nodded and replied, "She's usually right when it comes to the nature of people."

Just then Meelo said, "Mommy, how can Uncle Bumi be their daddy if he never got married?"

Bumi blushed and Pema's eyes widened and she stammered, "Um...well, honey, you see..."

"People don't have to be married to have babies," Lilly interrupted.

Ikki cocked an eyebrow and said, "Really? Then how does it work?"

"Well, first of all-"

"Whoa," Bumi said, putting a hand over Lilly's mouth, "they don't need to know that just yet." The Commander looked over at V who was standing in the doorway and gave her a look as if to ask, _Why does she know that?_

V shrugged and walked over saying, "What? I like them to know the truth." She turned to the kids and said, smiling, "It's so nice to meet you guys! Now don't tell me... You're Jinora, you're Ikki, and you must be Meelo."

"Yep," the three chorused. Jinora added, "And you must be Aunt V. You know, I have to say, Vanessa is a rather unusual name."

"That's because she made it up," Bumi said, to which V slugged him in the shoulder.

"OW! What, it's true! Her real name is-

"TERRIBLE!" V interrupted. "It's a terrible awful name and I don't know why anyone would ever curse their children to live under it. So, I just went ahead and came up with a new one when I got older, and so far it's worked just fine." She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Bumi, silently daring him to speak her real name.

"So you're the lady that Uncle Bumi fell in love with?" Ikki asked.

V and Bumi glanced at each other and shared an embarrassed grin. Bumi answered, "Well, yeah, but that was a long time ago..."

"Does Aunt Lin know that he loved you? Did she get jealous? Did you come back so that you could get back together with Uncle Bumi and the four of you could be one perfect family?"

Bumi, startled at the probing question from Ikki, put the girl down from his shoulders. Vanessa responded quickly with her answers.

"I doubt she knows it was that serious, she most certainly did and hinted at arresting me, and **ABSOLUTELY NOT!**." Vanessa turned to Bumi with a wry grin. "Not that you aren't still a catch, Papa bear." She winked at Bumi, earning giggles from the kids. "But I AM here to give Bumi a chance with his kids. My kids. _Our_ kids."

"Weren't you lonely?" Jinora asks with a thoughtful look. "I mean, you had to give birth to them all alone, and without Bumi to hold your hand."

"Yeah, Bumi, how dare you leave me on my own to pop out your children in some stinking back alley?" Vanessa asked him in mock seriousness.

"UNCLE BUMI, YOU DIDN'T!?" Meelo shouted in his exaggerated manner, shaking his finger rapidly at his Uncle. "How dare you abandon this lady with beautiful hair!"

"Oh, I like him," Vanessa giggled, running her fingers through her 'Beautiful Hair.'

"She's joking, Meelo!" Pema calms her son down, before glancing up at V,. "You ARE joking, aren't you, Vanessa?"

"Of course I am!" Vanessa scoffs. "I was a VERY popular assistant teacher at the 'Kyoshi School for Girls.' And when they heard I was unmarried and pregnant, they sorta made me their school project. The doctor was certainly surprised when over 500 girls and older teachers showed up in the Delivery room to assist me."

"Well, that's certainly a load off my mind," Bumi remarked with a relieved sigh.

"Don't sound so relieved," Vanessa leaned to whisper in his ear, turning away a bit as the other's conversed. "Amber might be unwilling to accept you quite yet. She's always been independent, and the one who's been the stable pillar in our family. Now that you're in her life, she feels threatened and doesn't want to have to rely on you." She patted him comfortingly on the shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll wear her down...also, she's EXTREMELY fond of those 'Salt-Water Taffies' that got invented when that Earth Kingdom Cargo Ship sunk and the cargo got thrown into the bay."

Bumi nodded, though he felt downhearted that one of his daughters was unwilling to accept him. But he'd known it wouldn't be THAT easy.

"Mama, can I have some scissors?" Lilly piped up, causing V, to pull away from Bumi to stare at their daughter.

"Why?" She asks suspiciously.

"Well, Meelo says you and me have VERY pretty hair, and he wants some of it. So, I was gonna take some scissors, and cut off my hair and yours when you're asleep; since you got so much." Meelo was next to Lilly and looked down shyly, rubbing his feet in the floor when V, looked at him upon hearing he wanted her hair.

However, Lilly's explanation caused Bumi's eyes to bulge and V to grab the gold chain at her waist and twirl it, obviously a gesture of slight alarm, or fear.

"Tiger-Lilly, there is _NO WAY_ I'm letting you near my head with sharp-scissors when I'm asleep!" Vanessa scolded her daughter.

"Awww. But I promise you won't _feel a thing!_" Lilly tried to reassure her mother.

"That's what she's afraid of, Lil," Amber reproached.

"Uhh...say, Lil, maybe you could just have your mother cut her own hair, and your own." Bumi gestured to Vanessa and to Lilly, while kneeling down to talk at her level.

"Well, Meelo asked me. Because he was too shy to ask," Lilly said. "And didn't want Mom to know he wanted her hair."

"I think that's a moot point right now." Bumi explained. "Besides, we should wait a little longer to cut your hair. Wouldn't want to ruin your gorgeous style."

Lilly beams under the compliment. "Really? You like my hair like this...I was worried, I had to do it myself this morning and wanted to look nice. Since Amber wouldn't help me, and Mama's too scared to get near my hair."

Pema looked from Lilly over to V, with a cock-eyed stare as she passed by Vanessa holding a stack of dirty dishes.

"I got my hands tangled in her hair one day when she was six and by the time I was able to get free, we were BOTH crying." Vanessa got an understanding look of sympathy from Pema. "After that, I taught HER how to do her OWN hair, or have Amber do it."

"Well, I simply adore it." Bumi grins at Lilly. "In fact, I had my hair combed all nice, because I wanted to look good for you girls and your mom."

"So, your hair is SUPPOSED to look like this?" Amber remarked. Bumi took it in stride, and gave her a teasing stare.

"I bet if I messed up your hair, it'd look JUST like mine, Little Missy." Bumi's remark causing Amber to give a horrified gasp and clutch her bun protectively.

"No! I can't go around looking like a Crazy Hobo! I spend too much time on my hair!" Amber said.

"Hey! That's 'Crazy Hobo **FATHER** to you young lady," Bumi joked.

"Actually, she's not that far off. I recall assuming you were a hobo when we first met." V, teased.

"Yeah, well, I recall SEVERAL instances where I had my hair nicely combed out for a night with you, but by the end of the date, you wounded up messing it up again," Bumi teased in a husky tone, nudging V playfully causing her to let out a laugh and slap him on the shoulder just as playfully.

"Oh your bad! I hope Ol'Ironsides can keep up with ya," V, laughs.

"THAT'S the nickname your giving Lin?" Bum remarked incredulously.

"Well, it fits her...she wears that iron outfit almost all the time from what I hear." She winked at Bumi and added, "Unless your skills on helping a lady 'Change' still upholds its record."

"Uhhhhh-HEY! Do you girls want to see the Bison?" Pema quickly interrupted, when she came back into the room and heard V and Bumi flirting.

"DO WE!?" Lilly squealed, swinging Flumi over her head excitedly.

Everyone was amused to watch Lilly go gaga over the bison, and even her sister warmed up to the lumbering beasts. They seemed especially taken with Lilly, who practically went nuts when her Father took her, Amber and the kids on a bison ride. Vanessa watched from below, chatting amiably with Pema over what had happened during the long years apart.

The girls rode on the bison until practically sunset, when it was time for dinner for both the family AND the bison.

Bumi freaked when Lilly jumped off the back of the Bison (who she'd named Mr. Biggins) and landed in Bolin's arms. She beamed up at the earthbender who got on to her for jumping like that. She tittered at the scolding, and for being held in his arms. Amber sighed, but then looked up at Bumi and pensively asked him to help her off the Bison.

Bumi gave her a wide grin, happy to have his daughter asking him for help. He scooped her up bridal style and jumped off the bison - but instead of falling straight down, he formed a perfect small cyclone to gently lower them to the ground. Amber was wowed, as was V, at seeing Bumi bending now.

Amber must've been very impressed by her Dad's skills, as she let him carry her back to the temple, and even sat next to him at dinner. Though Vanessa whispered a soft warning to Bumi that it might just be a temporary truce, and she would still be edgy. So, he was to take it slow.

Nonetheless, Bumi took his victories when he could and it seemed the excitement of the Bison ride, and meeting their cousins and so forth had exhausted the girls. Pema had Bumi pick up Amber, and Bolin picked up Lilly. (But only because she refused to unlatch from his side, to his own embarrassment.) Soon Bumi, Bolin and Vanessa followed Pema to the bedroom that V and the girls would share.

"Just put her in the same bed with Amber, Bolin," V advised, as she picked up Flumi, who Lilly dropped to the floor. She put it into her daughter's arms as she was laid in bed.

"They still sometimes sleep together," Vanessa mentioned casually, before looking over her shoulder at Bumi who stepped back after putting Amber down next to Lilly.

"She sometimes gets night terrors," she said of Lilly. She looked Bumi in the eye. "In which case, if I'm gone and she has one that Amber can't calm her down from, just brew her some dandelion tea, and rub her back as she _slowly_ sips it. And she'll be okay."

"Okay, and Amber?" Bumi inquired, slightly worried as he realized that the girls would be more work than he'd thought.

"Just don't point your finger at her when you're saying something that annoys her, or she'll bite it...actually, she hasn't done that she was 6 years old. But it's better to play it safe. And DO NOT mention infidelity, or cheating husbands to her. For some reason she's VERY open about the fact that she's disgusted by men who cheat on girls."

"Better not let her know about Mako, right?" Bolin whispered conspiratorially to Bumi, who nodded in agreement.

"Well, I guess I'll see you boys in the morning." She then winked coyly. "Unless you're planning to stay and help me undress?"

"Well, would you look at the time? I gotta feed the Bison!"

"Yeah, and I gotta...gotta...gotta see a girl about an..._Opal_."

The two men promptly hurried out of the room as V laughed softly at their reactions, before getting ready for bed.

Once she was dressed she sat on the bed across from the girls and gave small smile at their sleeping forms. "Oh babies, what am I gonna do with you?"


End file.
